Three Men Jailed Over Plot to Blow Up Galway Mosque
Three men have been jailed for attempting to engage in a terrorist activity by planning to damage a mosque in Galway. One of them, Garrett Pollock, is from Annalong in County Down.
Pollock, 36, was sentenced to ten and a half years, with the last year suspended. Darren Gorman, 34, of Portlaoise, and Karolis Peckauskas, 39, of Drogheda, each received eight years, also with the last year suspended.
Arrests in early November 2025
The Special Criminal Court in Dublin heard that the men had made advanced plans to blow up the Maryam Mosque on the Monivea Road. They were arrested between 4 and 5 November 2025. Pollock also pleaded guilty to possessing an explosive substance, found in four glass jars hidden in a drawer in his van on 4 November.
On Friday, Ms Justice Caroline Biggs said modern Ireland is a multicultural and diverse country, and that the group's actions bring shame on it. She described the plan as attempted arson, with a terrorising message to be spread worldwide. In her words, it was clear that this was meant to be the first of many attacks.
What gardaí found
Detective Inspector Alan McDevitt told the court the men belonged to the self-styled Irish Defence Army. He described it as a violent right-wing extremist group. He said it was a splinter of the online Irish Citizens Army, which communicated on the messaging app Signal, as RTÉ has reported.
Gardaí did not know when the attack was due. The men planned to use improvised incendiary devices such as pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails, McDevitt said. Officers seized cable ties, hatchets, knives and masks. They also took five litres of chemicals that could be used in pipe bombs, along with sunglasses, balaclavas, a can of sealing putty and an Irish flag.
The men had filmed a video on Pollock's phone in Gorman's kitchen in Portlaoise. It showed four masked men in tactical gear standing in front of the Irish flag. They said they wished "to take responsibility for destruction of first mosque introduced into our great country in Galway".
Defence evidence
The court received a letter from Pollock expressing remorse and shame. It heard that he was radicalised online after he began misusing alcohol and cocaine. Pollock, a gym instructor, took in content about supposed threats from immigrants, which was described as "emotive, ill-informed and AI-generated". A doctor who assessed him said his actions came in the context of emotional dysfunction, low self-esteem and isolation.
Gorman's defence counsel told the court that his psychological report showed extremes of submissiveness and vulnerability. He was a drug user and addict with certain mental health issues, counsel said, but had no history of violence, hatred or terrorism.
Source: BBC News